♥ Home Run 1998 ♥ Note on soap magazine publication dates and content of articles/interviews regarding multiple soap stars: Many of the monthly or every other month (and sometimes quarterly) magazines back in the 1980's would be on the newsstands a long time before the date on the actual magazine. We've noticed, for instance, that DAYTIME TV magazine did an interview with Drake in late 1986 about his upcoming wedding, which was scheduled for December 1986, yet the interview didn't appear until the July 1987 issue several months later. Therefore, it might be a bit confusing to read about his "upcoming" wedding in an interview dated July 1987 when you happen to know he was married in December 1986. We've tried to date the articles to match the date on the magazine, regardless of when the events talked about took place. Hopefully it will make sense as you go along! We've also edited some of the articles/interviews to just include John's storyline, since this is a Drake/John website. We've left out comments and sections about other actors or storylines unless they're involved with John's storyline. This too should be very apparent and clear when we've done that so it makes sense and you don't have to skim through a long article to find the "John parts." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Who's Hot: Soaps' Sexy Men... Soaps' Sexiest Men: They're way cool...and so hot. The guys who send hearts beating and pulses racing with just a glance - but oh, what a glance. It's a dirty job, but someone had to ponder all the men in the soap universe and pick the sexiest. So, the editors of SOAP OPERA DIGEST made the supreme sacrifice. (Yeah, right.) By the way, last year's selections (which included THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS's Shemar Moore, GENERAL HOSPITAL's Ingo Rademacher and DAYS OF OUR LIVES' Austin Peck) were not eligible. So, without further debate, here's the class of 1998 - with comments by female co-stars about what makes them so fine. Drake Hogestyn (John, DAYS OF OUR LIVES): SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What's your idea of a romantic day? Drake Hogestyn: This is like THE DATING GAME! I have to come up with something really clever. I can think of a thousand different romantic days. Romance comes in a lot of different shades, but it comes in one primary color, and that's (my wife) Victoria. We have so many different romantic moments that don't have to be days, actually. Since we have so many children and they're always around us, we try to steal little moments for ourselves. But you have to have a lot of them all the time, and it shouldn't be anything you plan. I can be in the car alone with her and hold her hand and ask her about her day, and that's romantic. SOAP OPERA DIGEST: Are you a romantic person? Drake Hogestyn: Very. I have always been. When I was younger, I always had girlfriends. I never disliked (girls). Never. From nursery on, I always wanted to be on the teeter-totter with a girl. SOAP OPERA DIGEST: Do you think you're sexy? Drake Hogestyn: I'm not good at answering this question. I feel comfortable with who I am. I feel physically comfortable with myself and that's probably because of my sports background, where your physical talents are on display for everyone to see. I think confidence in that field is attractive, and people want to gravitate toward that kind of confidence. My children respond to that feature, and I would never want to fall from grace in their eyes. My wife finds that sexy. SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What makes you blush? Drake Hogestyn: Talking about this. SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What makes Drake sexy? "I know him too well; I have an unfair advantage," smiles Deidre Hall (Marlena). "Sexy would not be on the top of my list to describe what makes Drake magnificent. To me, it's his love for his family and his devotion to the choices he makes regarding Victoria and the children. I see the energy he has; he's a huge dad, a protector, a provider, a comforter, a stabilizer and an inspiration, and maybe part of what we see about Drake on-camera is his lack of fullness about himself." SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 11/17/98